This recipe is one of my favorite spring traditions. And while of course many wild foods are in season from spring through fall, there's something about the exuberance of the spring and the undeniable vitality of the plants right now that makes the spring my favorite season to imbibe in wild foods. 

And when we make dishes with raw wild greens we've foraged or even picked from our gardens or bought at local farmers markets, we're infusing our microbiome with our bioregional, wild microbial "terroir” present on the leaf surface of these plants. The gut microbiome is a diverse microbial array that lives in our digestive system and has a hand in regulating mood, mental health, digestion, nutrient absorption, immunity…and the research just keeps growing. 

All throughout the Mediterranean and SWANA region various iterations of this dish occur- the combination of greens, herbs, eggs, and some kind of cheese (often ricotta or feta) for the ultimate peasant food that's deeply nourishing and draws on seasonally and bioregionally abundant ingredients.

As soon as spring arrives the plant I’m the most excited to greet each year is Nettles. They’re a true harbinger of spring, one of earliest greens, and a vitamin and mineral-rich herbal multivitamin that also delivers the highest amounts of protein per serving in the plant kingdom- upwards of 30%!

The Nettles are in their prime right now and I've been eating them as often as I can, harvesting to dry for winter nourishing infusions, and experimenting with recipes my kids will like. This recipe was a win so I thought I'd share it. Enjoy!

Kichari is a classic Indian stew of white rice, mung beans, ghee, and loads and loads of spices. It's food as medicine at it's finest. It supports all the eliminatory pathways in the body (often done as a cleanse in Ayurveda), boosts metabolic fire, and provides a re-set to your digestive system, especially if it's feeling sluggish and overwhelmed.

The spring is an exciting, transformative, and expansive time. The plants and the earth are waking-up. And, since our bodies are a little microcosm of this larger macrocosm, a little spring awakening is happening within us too! Can you feel it?

Lately it's been all Nettles all the time....Nettles in my breakfast, Nettles in my lunch, Nettles for dinner!...I've been making a take on the classic Irish Nettles Soup (recipe below!), which has quickly become become a favorite springtime dish in our home, and it's kid-approved!